Part (1)
Modern Chinese Medicine (MCM) Anti-Liver-Fibrosis Treatments

Anti-fibrosis has been an important research field in treating chronic liver diseases. "He who can stop or hold the progress of the liver fibrosis, he can cure the chronic liver diseases."

This statement emphasized the paramount importance of anti-fibrosis therapy in treating chronic liver diseases.

Fibrosis is the common pathogenesis of chronic liver diseases. It can happen in chronic viral hepatitis B and C and also in alcoholic, drug, chemical intoxication, and parasitic liver disease. 

Fibrosis is the liver’s repairing reaction to the liver cell injuries and inflammation. Biopsy found that fibrosis exists in 62.6% patients with mild chronic hepatitis and 100% in severe chronic hepatitis (CH). Without proper treatment fibrosis leads CH to cirrhosis, hypertension of portal vein, ascites, hepatic encephalopathy, hepatocellular carcinoma, and even liver failure. However, if this pathological progress can be held, or reversed, the prognosis of chronic liver disease can be greatly changed.

Through many years of studies in animal cirrhotic models, it has been proved that to reverse fibrosis is possible, especially in the early stages of liver disease. The question is, at what stage does fibrosis become irreversible? In order to study this problem, we are badly in need of a non-invasive method to assess the progression of fibrosis and how anti-fibrosis treatment is working. Although many researchers found have found that fibrosis is reversible, it is a common brief that cirrhosis is irreversible.

For more than 40 years, Chinese medical anti-fibrosis studies have also shown that fibrosis can be reversed. Clinically in China, anti-fibrosis with Chinese medicine is a hot spot of research in the treatment of chronic viral hepatitis. With the development of the knowledge of molecular biology of the fibrosis, and integration of Chinese and Western medicine, MCM has developed effective anti-fibrostic treatments.  With these treatments, there is possible to reverse or slow down the progress of the fibrosis and restore the normal liver structure and functions.

The pathophysiological center of the liver fibrosis is the activities of Hepatic Stellate Cells (HSC).

There are three basic phenomena related to liver fibrosis:

1. HSC activation and transferred to be fibroblastic cells
2. Retinoid contained in the HSC reduces
3. The synthesis of Extra Cellular Matrix (ECM) increase and the decomposing of ECM decreases

These are the over-all results of the activation of HSC. The studies on MCM anti-fibrosis treatments were focused on how to suppress the activities of HSC and to interfere the production of related cytokines. Anti-fibrosis therapy is a multi-faces treatment and consists of following aspects:

1.    Controlling the underline primary disease – the chronic viral hepatitis. For other chronic liver diseases, such as alcoholic liver disease, stop drinking, and for parasitic liver disease, eliminate the parasite. Treating the inflammation to prevent liver cell injury. MCM has provided many herbal remedies such as, schizandrin B and C, glycyrrhizin, oleanolic acid, sylimaline, oxymatrine, and Sedum. Most of these herbal remedies can lower the ALT and AST level, protect the intact of the liver cell membrane and reduce the inflammatory cell infiltration and liver cell necrosis.

2.     Suppressing HSC activation and the actions of HSC-related cytokines, such as TGFb1 (transforming growth factor-beta 1), PDGF (platelet delivered growth factor), PAI (Plasminogen activator inhibitor),  and promoting the apoptosis (programmed death) of HSC.

3.        Restore the equilibrium of production and decomposition of ECM. This is the key to reverse the fibrosis. Fibroblastic activity is a dynamic process and theoretically it is reversible. An effective anti-fibrosis treatment should suppress the fiber synthesis and promote its degradation. Chinese herbal treatment can affect both sides. It can suppress the synthesis and secretion of ECM and promoting its decomposition.

Based on many clinical and experimental research works, we have found following Chinese herbs to have anti-fibrostic effects: Salviae Miltiorrhziae Radix Cordyceps sinensis, Persicae Semen, Notoginseng Sanchis Radix, Stephania tetrandra Radix, Cnidii Rhizoma, Angelicae Radix, and Astragali Radix.

These are the components in our anti-fibrosis formulas, through our unique method of extracting the active ingredients for optimum effect.